UMW TOYOTA MOTOR ACHIEVED 12 % HIGHER SALES IN 2010

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn. Bhd., distributor of Toyota and Lexus brand in Malaysia has achieved vehicle sales of 92,000 units in 2010.  It is an increase of 12 percent from the company’s sales of 82,000 in 2009. “We have maintained our 2010 market share of above 15 percent against the Total Industry Volume (TIV) and sustained the number one position in the non-national segment for 21 consecutive years,” said UMW Toyota Motor’s newly appointed President, En. Ismet Suki, at a function with media today. He also said, “Vios remains as our most popular model with sales close to 33,700 units sold, followed by Hilux with 18,600 units and Camry with 11,500 units.”  The three models are also the leader in their respective vehicle segments.
“We would like to thank the government for the extension and enhancement of Hybrid incentives announced in the last national budget. The Prius is now more affordable as the price is reduced to RM139,900 (On-the-road price with insurance for Peninsular Malaysia). With this new on-the-road price, we have been receiving strong response from customers.”
“The Lexus brand, has achieved a growth of 42 percent with 430 units compared to sales of 300 units in 2009. The Lexus RX 350 remains as the favorite among the Lexus model line-up,” he added. Coupled with a good sales performance, its after sales has successfully hit a new record of almost 1.1 million total units serviced. On top of that, the company’s export business has grown to 36 percent; RM913.4 million compared to RM671.3 million in 2009. This includes exportation of vehicles and multi-sourcing parts. Throughout 2010, its manufacturing facility, Assembly Services Sdn Bhd (ASSB) has also recorded the highest ever production volume of 69,000 units per year, since it started operations in 1968.
Moving forward, En. Ismet also mentioned on the 2011 sales projection. “TIV is expected to be around 600,000 units. We are optimistic with the current automotive market condition and expect the momentum would continue further in the later months.” According to En Ismet, the company is planning for exciting model launches throughout the year.  Among the new vehicle to be launched within the first quarter of 2011 is the Lexus Hybrid model, CT 200h. This will be the third Lexus Hybrid model, in addition to the LS 600h L and RX 450h launched end of last year. UMW Toyota Motor is also investing to further expand its sales and after sales network this year. Among new dealerships and facilities set to be launched are the new Lexus Showroom in Johor Bahru, which started operations yesterday, and another Lexus showroom in the Klang Valley by the end of the year.  In addition to that, there will be a new Toyota 3S centre in Ipoh, Perak.
UMW Toyota Motor has also encouraged their appointed dealers to enhance their facilities including to build a full fledged 3S facilities to cope with the current market demand. In delivering better after sales services to its customers, the company also plans to increase the number of service bays by 14 percent in 2011.  It will also add another 22 percent of Body and Paint bays, within this year.
“Vehicles delivery process has always been very important in new car sales. Aiming at improving delivery time to our customers, we are also investing RM 200 million to set-up and develop our new Central Stockyard facility in Bukit Raja, Klang,” added En. Ismet. The project which started last year is expected to be completed and start operations within the third quarter of 2011. UMW Toyota Motor has invested close to RM 290 million from 2005 to 2009 to develop and modernize its manufacturing facilities. 
“In order to live up to our customers’ expectations and deliver vehicles of high quality standards, we are investing RM 170 million from 2010 to 2012 to further develop ASSB. The investments are channeled to enhance Toyota’s quality, further improve automation and productivity,” concluded En Ismet.